So as some of you may know, I am currently in NYC, and I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Discourse member Good@Sabacc (AKA Don Boyer).
We met at a local pizza joint, where I enjoyed a slice of pizza served exclusively there, a slice I crave immensely each year. We talked cards, and I got my brick of Black Crowns. I showed him the Vortex Prototype 2 deck and gave him quite a bit of insider info on future Aether products. Info that, at this time, about two other people know.
We stopped by his place afterwards, and I met his family. Very nice folks, and perhaps the strangest part was that they spoke Russian. Since I am staying with my Russian family, it felt as though I already knew them. In fact, I don't doubt for a second that one of my relatives know Don's family. Russians are extremely inter-connected in NYC.
Anyway, he showed me his card collection and sweet lord is it big. By Don's own estimates, he has about 800+ decks. I have about the same amount, but nowhere near that variety. A good half of my decks are up for sale, and another 100-200 are open decks I plan on selling later. Suffice to say, looking back on our conversations I realize now how hilarious they really were. It went something along the lines of "Hey, you know this deck..." followed by Don showing me the deck in question.
He was kind enough to throw me a Johnny Cupcakes deck, as well as some sealed casino decks made by Gemaco. The decks are of surprisingly good quality, but the real highlight is that they are uncancelled and out of print!
After talking magic for a little while, it was time to go. My biggest take away was the knowledge that I now know one more amazing person in NYC, and that Gemaco has a unique stock/finish that handles superior to USPCC cards, and is now something I will be looking into for future Aether decks.
My only regret is that I didn't have any swag to give Don. Maybe next year, when I finally have tubs full of Aether merch.